


A cabin boy's day

by Haru D Nae (Anaelita)



Series: Around the Grand Line [16]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chores, Fluff and Angst, Laundry, M/M, Pre-Canon, Teenagers sailing with the Pirate King, Vegetables, blame Buggy, but as usual it's just a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 00:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11520603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaelita/pseuds/Haru%20D%20Nae
Summary: An ordinary day on the Oro Jackson, where Shanks is his usual annoying self, and Buggy his usual grumpy self.





	1. Buggy's day

Buggy wakes up to Shanks tucked in bed next to him.

They're facing each other in the cramped space, Shanks's left arm under Buggy's head, and the other one loosely wrapped around the blue-haired boy's waist. Buggy's arms are tucked between the two of them, close enough to Shanks's chest that the younger boy can distantly feel a heartbeat through the fabric of the shirt the redhead is wearing. His warm breath tickles the little hairs on Buggy's arms.

That kind of situation seems to happen an awful lot lately, especially since Buggy's been sick. The redhead won't leave him alone, spends most of his free time bugging him, leaves his bed at night to sleep with Buggy, and it's starting to be really annoying. The young cabin boy sighs. Okay, it's not that annoying, at least _not yet_ for today. Shanks looks peaceful when he sleeps. _I_ _like him better_ _when he doesn't talk_ , Buggy snickers to himself.

A few hair strands fall upon the the redhead's face, and Buggy has the uncontrollable urge to remove them and tuck them behind Shanks's ear. He catches his breath for a while, hand frozen in mid-air as the other stirs a bit in his sleep, but finishes his motion nonetheless when he's sure Shanks isn't awake. His hand lingers on the older teen's pulse on his neck – _so warm_ –, before he gets back to his initial position.

Buggy's _always_ the first to wake up, so if they're in the same bed he simply leaves quietly and never mentions anything afterwards. He doesn't get why the redhead sleeps with him, but he doesn't mind that much. He worries more about the rest of the day, between the chores and Shanks being his usual annoying self.

Buggy extracts himself from the bed as quietly as possible in order not to wake up his bunkmate and leaves for the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

While Buggy eats breakfast in the galley, Rayleigh informs him that Shanks's and his duties for the day are laundry and help in the kitchen, and that they're allowed to organize their day as long as the work is done.

When Shanks comes in shortly after, they plan their routine so as to be able to take a nap in the afternoon and be free at night. Of course, the idiot has to sit right next to Buggy.

 

* * *

 

Laundry duty isn't that bad. Sure, it's repetitive and frankly not one of Buggy's favorite activities but at least it's not too taxing, physically, and if they're silent it gives him plenty of time to think. Of course, they can't work quietly for that long, because Shanks has to open his stupid mouth.

"Say, Buggy ?"

"What ?"

"Can I borrow you another book sometime ?"

"Yeah, sure, why not. I don't have that many though."

"It's okay, worst case scenario we'll go find new ones at the next island", the redhead beams.

Buggy frowns – why does the redhead have to follow him _everywhere_ ? –, and retorts, "I can find books by myself."

Shanks scratches the back of his head, "I know, it's just... I don't know, I thought I could help is all."

The blue-haired boy hums and gets back to cleaning clothes, trying to ignore the awkward silence he just induced.

They stay like this for a while, hands immersed in the same water tank and concentrated on their own scrubbing, until Buggy receives a splash of water on his arm.

"Oi !"

Shanks chuckles and splashes him once more.

Buggy retaliates with just enough water to soak the redhead's striped shirt all the way down his trousers. He points at the older boy, laughing at his demise.

The wet one doesn't miss a beat and lifts his currently occupied washboard, sending a pretty decent wave towards Buggy.

He barely has the time to yelp and he's drenched in soapy water from head to toe. "Stupid redhead", he fulminates, before abandoning his own washboard and getting off the bench to grab Shanks by the collar.

And the redhead has the gall to smile as he says, "Sorry, didn't mean to."

"Liar", Buggy deadpans, before he uses his free hand to send a flying punch at Shanks.

The straw-hatted bastard easily deflects him.

And before he knows it, his solid punch hits the water tank, destabilizing it enough for most of the water to spill overboard. A loud splash echoes in the room, soap and dirt sticking to a fair amount of wooden planks, in front of a very wet, very angry, and now very screwed Buggy.

"Oh", is all Shanks manages to say, before Rayleigh opens the door to check on the two boys.

The Dark King simply raises an eyebrow before he says, "I know I told you kids to organize your day as you wish, but I didn't know you were so zealous as to add more chores to your planning. I'll keep that in mind for the next days." He smirks as he closes the door, "Don't be late for lunch !"

The teens look at the door with wide eyes. Then at the wet floor. Then at the remaining pile of laundry. Then at each other.

Buggy rolls his eyes and sighs in defeat. "Come on, let's do this", he nods to the side before removing his wet shirt and adding it to the pile of laundry.

Shanks silently complies.

 

* * *

 

Spare ropes, clothespins and the wind. Hanging up the laundry lightens up the mood a bit, as the boys are outside and wearing fresh dry clothes. As they execute their job, the back of the ship is soon transformed into a labyrinth of fabric.

Buggy is almost done with his half of the hanging - somehow he managed to stay away from the redhead - when a tanned arm pops from between a shirt and bedsheets, touches his hand and disappears just as fast.

Shanks's voice rings from somewhere on Buggy's left. "Tag !"

The blue-haired boy smirks, "You're on."

And they start a chase, hiding themselves behind the bedsheets and the larger pieces of clothing, looking down under the smaller ones, tacitly agreeing to constrain their playground to their homemade labyrinth. In a relentless pursuit, they laugh and exult each time one finds the other.

Buggy's breath comes short after a few runs, and right now he's the chased one so he's hiding, standing flat behind a dark piece of cloth, and hoping there won't be much wind or else-

"Ah-hah !" With a triumphant smile, Shanks's head perks out from the row of clothes in front of him.

The younger boy hardly has the time to brace himself before the older one lunges at him and tackles him to the floor.

The redhead straddles Buggy, hands on both sides of the other's head, panting and looking all too happy.

The blue-haired boy blinks, recovering from the shock – and pain, he's sure he's going to have a bump on the head – and suddenly realizes the position they're in. _Way too close._

Shanks tilts his head, "What's wrong ?"

"N-nothing", Buggy stutters, at least he hopes he says it loud enough, he's not sure with his deafening heartbeat. _Shanks is too close, Shanks's face is way too close, he needs to get out, and fast._ He roughly shoves the other backwards, mumbling a half-hearted "Alright, you win". Then he scrambles up and, not daring a single look at the redhead, leaves in direction of the galley, firmly intending on forgetting the incident.

 

* * *

 

After lunch – nothing weird, thank the seas – Shanks and Buggy take a quick nap under the sun, propped up against a mast, facing opposite directions like they do when they're on watch.

Buggy wakes up with Shanks leaning on him. The bastard moved while Buggy was asleep so they could be closer ! He leaves, careful not to let the idiot fall against the floor. And he comes back a while later to wake up Shanks with a smack on the head for their next duty.

Then it's time to help for tonight's dinner, there are many people aboard so the chore boys are bound to have sore hands by the end of their job but it's for the best – their cook is awesome. They're left alone in the storage room next to the galley, sat on two neighboring stools with a pile of potatoes and carrots between them and a huge wicker basket nearby.

After the soapy incident of this morning, Buggy doesn't want to risk adding new chores to his daily to-do list so he quietly peels his share of vegetables.

But the annoying, stupid Shanks always finds something to get on his nerves. Like, bumping elbows once in a while, brushing against his arm every so often, glancing at him for no reason, and no, Buggy's _not_ staring at Shanks to have noticed the recurrence of said glances, he just _feels_ the redhead's gaze on him and it bothers him to no end.

So yeah, there's one too many touches and Buggy decides he's had enough of this annoying, clingy, straw-hatted red-haired idiot. He suddenly gets up, still holding a carrot in a hand and a knife in the other, and yells, "Why won't you just leave me alone ?"

The redhead opens his mouth as if to say something, but Buggy is not going to let him have his ways.

"Why won't you just stop being annoying and stupid all the time ? You keep getting us into trouble and making fun of me, that's not what pirates are for and I'm tired of _you_ !"

Shanks ducks his head and looks so sad all of sudden that Buggy has half a mind to regret what he just said, but he can't back down now.

They go back to peeling vegetables in silence, and away enough from each other that they don't make skin contact again. Or eye contact, for what it's worth.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Buggy watches as Shanks joins some crew members in the galley for a few drinks. He decides he doesn't care and goes straight to bed.

He can't sleep though.

After a good while, Buggy hears fumbling at the door, deduces Shanks is drunk and off to bed, and settles on not making any move or sound, the bastard doesn't deserve any attention anyway.

The door opens and closes.

Buggy hears a long sigh, but doesn't turn to face his bunkmate.

Shanks goes straight to his own bed and starts snoring just a few minutes after.

A solid hour passes by, Buggy still can't sleep and is seriously considering doing something really stupid, just... to be sure. To hell with it, he climbs up and tucks himself close to Shanks, nestling himself between the other's arms.

He dazedly thinks, "Stupid Shanks...", and he falls asleep just like that.


	2. Shanks's day

Shanks stirs up in his sleep, feeling something warm and soft against his face. He vaguely registers it as _Buggy's hand_ as he falls back asleep.

The redhead tosses and turns, unsettled by the cold sensation at his side and opens his eyes. He realizes Buggy left a while ago, that's probably why he doesn't want to sleep anymore. He yawns.

The first time he climbed down his bed and into Buggy's was when they got drunk together, he felt so awful after his younger friend was hungover that he wanted to make it up to him and decided to keep him warm. Also, he couldn't sleep because of guilt. Still, as soon as they huddled together, the blue-haired boy stopped shivering in his sleep and Shanks was able to find peace and rest as well. Since then, once in a while he does just that, sneaking into his friend's bed at night so they sleep better, and Buggy has yet to complain.

Shanks rubs his eyes and decides to join the rest of the crew after a quick shower.

 

* * *

 

When he enters the galley he finds himself in the middle of the lively crew eating their fill of breakfast. He notices Buggy and Rayleigh chatting at a nearby table, decides to fill his plate before joining them.

When he reaches the table Rayleigh already left, there's one available chair at Buggy's right, perfect. Buggy informs him they can manage their day as they want, so he insists on taking a nap after lunch and being free at night. Shanks is proud that Captain and Rayleigh let them plan their day. It proves they trust the teens, and believe they can take responsibilities. With the added bonus of being able to spend more time together.

 

* * *

 

Laundry duty sucks. They have to scrub, scrub, _scrub_ , and seriously some of the crew could learn a lesson or two about basic hygiene. Who wears a white shirt until it turns a yellowish kind of gray ? Yuck.

Shanks looks on his side, at a very concentrated Buggy. He's always like that, thinking when they're silent, the redhead can almost hear the gears turning. He can't resist snapping him out of his train of thoughts. "Say, Buggy ?"

"What ?"

"Can I borrow you another book sometime ?" That's just an excuse, really. He just wants to talk with Buggy and came up with the first conversation starter he thought of.

"Yeah, sure, why not. I don't have that many though."

Shanks smiles, "It's okay, worst case scenario we'll go find new ones at the next island." He loves exploring with Buggy, even if it's just a library the concept is appealing.

Buggy frowns, "I can find books by myself."

 _Of course, he had to take it personally._ Shanks scratches the back of his head, sheepishly. "I know, it's just... I don't know, I thought I could help is all."

Buggy hums but doesn't speak any more, and starts scrubbing again.

The redhead pouts. He just wanted to talk for a while, have fun, do what kids do, anything, laundry just sucks. He scrubs for a while, listening intently to the washing and sploshing sounds and wondering if they could reproduce the sound of the sea. Talking about the sea... they can still make waves. Shanks holds one of his hands on the surface of the soapy water, flicking it just enough to send a splash on Buggy's arm.

"Oi !"

Shanks chuckles – he got a reaction and is intending to get as much as them as possible, he's in a playful mood and just wants to distract himself from the work – and repeats the motion.

Buggy imitates him but with a bit more force and the redhead ends up with most of his upper body soaked wet.

His shirt clings to his arms and torso, he's not too fond of the feeling, especially with Buggy pointing at him and mocking him. Shanks chooses easy revenge. He plunges his washboard deep inside the tank then lifts it fast towards Buggy, not caring in the least about the consequences of his acts.

A strangled yelp escapes Buggy before he finds himself drenched in soapy water. "Stupid redhead" is all Shanks hears before he's grabbed by the collar.

The older teen sheepishly offers, "Sorry, didn't mean to."

"Liar", Buggy spits. He's really pissed so Shanks is expecting a punch at any moment.

And it's a flying one, classic. Shanks is quite used to those, and in close combat they aren't very effective so he spats the detached hand away... in direction of the water tank. _Great thinking, Shanks._

The container tilts towards the door, spilling a good two thirds of its content on the wooden floor. Water, soap and dirt spill everywhere in wet splashing sounds. They are _so_ screwed.

A single "Oh" escape Shanks's lips and Rayleigh opens the door to the laundry room, with no doubt alerted by the sound.

The Dark King simply raises an eyebrow before he says, "I know I told you kids to organize your day as you wish, but I didn't know you were so zealous as to add more chores to your planning. I'll keep that in mind for the next days." He smirks as he closes the door, "Don't be late for lunch !"

The teens look at the door with wide eyes. Then at the wet floor. Then at the remaining pile of laundry. Then at each other.

Buggy rolls his eyes and sighs. He nods towards the pile of laundry as he says, "Come on, let's do this."

Shanks knows most of this is his fault, and doesn't want to make Buggy any more angry. He sighs in defeat and silently gets back to work.

If anything sucks more than laundry, it's _extra_ laundry.

 

* * *

 

After retrieving fresh dry clothes, Shanks enjoys the feeling of the wind in his hair as he hangs up the laundry.

They split the back of the ship in two, Buggy stating they should stay on their own half so they work faster, and when Shanks is done with his half he can't resist paying Buggy a visit. He spots him behind an array of bed sheets and shirts, and quietly makes his way towards him, grateful the wind conceals the noise of most creaking planks. When he's close enough he distinguishes Buggy's form behind the fabric so he holds his arm out, touches Buggy's hand and starts running in the opposite direction. He yells, "Tag !", as he leaves, not bothering to check if he's followed. _He knows he will be._

And they play for a good amount of time, staying within the limits of their labyrinth as if they'd agree on rules beforehand. It's exhilarating to find and be found, enjoying themselves as if there was nothing more to the world than just the two of them, fun and laughter.

Shanks sneakily makes his way between the arrays of clothes, expecting Buggy to use his Devil Fruit powers to trick him, and finally spots the blue-haired boy, just a few feet in front of him. _He's looking the other way, perfect._ Smiling, Shanks perks out from the last row of clothes separating him from Buggy, startling him with a triumphant "Ah-hah !" before tackling him to the ground right there and then, grinning like he just won the lottery.

Buggy blinks, and looks worried all of a sudden.

"What's wrong ?"

"N-nothing", he whispers, but he blushes like mad and Shanks thinks it's cute.

Before he has the time to say it out loud, though, he's shoved on his back, hears something that sounds like a muffled "You win" and then Buggy leaves without a single look back at him.

Shanks doesn't understand. They were just playing, and all of a sudden his friend leaves ?

 

* * *

 

Nothing better than a nap ! Buggy wouldn't talk to Shanks anyway during lunch, he even avoided his look most of the time so the redhead needs a distraction.

Buggy already propped himself up against a mast and is stretching his legs to make himself comfortable.

Thinking about the times they keep watch together, Shanks imitates him, propped against the same mast but facing the opposite direction. When Buggy starts snoring though, the redhead realizes the position might be good for the lookout, but isn't that comfortable when it comes to naps. He slides just a bit around the mast so he can rest his head on his friend's shoulder and finally gets to rest.

A totally undeserved smack on the head wakes him up.

Next, peeling veggies. Not the most interesting task in itself, but Shanks knows they're going to eat something _real good_ tonight, just like every day on the Oro Jackson, so he happily complies.

Buggy's next to him, still not talking about earlier - or at all, for that matters - and it bothers Shanks just enough to make him fidget on his chair.

Of course, when he moves around every now and then he touches Buggy's arm but hey, it's not like that never happened, they live together, work together, fight together and even sleep together sometimes so who cares anyway. Shanks likes when they're close like this. Buggy's his best friend after all. The redhead dares a glance towards Buggy once in a while, hoping to spark a conversation, anything, just to get rid of the uncomfortable silence between them.

After a quiet while, out of nowhere, Buggy gets up and yells, "Why won't you just leave me alone ?"

Shanks's mouth opens in pure surprise, why is Buggy mad at him ?

"Why won't you just stop being annoying and stupid all the time ? You keep getting us into trouble and making fun of me, that's not what pirates are for and I'm tired of _you_ !"

That stings. The red-haired cabin boy hunches his shoulders, feeling suddenly very empty. He's at a loss for words and doesn't want to say anything anyway, and risk upsetting Buggy more.

Buggy sits back in silence, apparently done with his outburst, and gets back to peeling his vegetables.

Shanks wordlessly follows, gaze lost somewhere in front of him and decidedly not at Buggy, feeling that tonight's dinner won't taste as nice as usual.

 

* * *

 

Shanks is really sad. All he wants is spending more time with his friend, and seemingly all he achieves is bothering and upsetting him. He broods over his plate in the galley, not looking a single time towards Buggy. When some crew members open a few bottles after dinner, he decides to join them and drink his sorrow away.

Opening his second bottle of wine, Shanks feels pleasantly buzzed. He doesn't think about all the things that went wrong during the day, he doesn't think about Buggy ignoring him, he doesn't think about how he may have lost his friend and how he's desperate to have him back, he doesn't-

"Shanks ?", a voice interrupts his train of non-thoughts.

Shanks looks up to a smiling Roger. "Captain...", he starts, before sighing and lumping down his chair.

The Pirate King drags a free stool to sit next to the straw-hatted teen. "What's wrong, kid ?"

"Buggy hates me."

Roger chuckles, "No he doesn't."

"Yes he does", Shanks pouts. "He says I'm annoying and he's tired of me."

His Captain sighs. "People often say things they don't mean when they're angry. You probably bothered him a bit too much..."

"I don't even know what I've done wrong", the redhead whines.

Roger adjusts the hat on Shanks's head, sporting a comforting smile. "Give him time, alright ? You're friends, he can't hate you just like that, out of nowhere."

The cabin boy nods the affirmative and attempts to take another sip of wine when his Captain snatches the bottle from his hand.

"And, this is retribution for wisdom and advice. Now go to sleep." With that the Pirate King laughs heartily, making a few crewmates around smile as well.

Shanks huffs, " _Fine_ , I was going to anyway", before grumpily leaving the galley. As he walks, Captain Roger's words echo in his head. _Buggy can't hate me just like that, give him time._ He settles on not bothering Buggy for the next days. Even if that means sleeping alone.

As the redhead enters his bunk, he notices his friend – he hopes he still is – is already fast asleep. _Don't bother him_ , he reminds himself. He sighs and climbs directly into his own bed, hoping he's drunk enough to fall into slumber soon. And that things will get better.

 

* * *

 

Shanks wakes up the following morning to a snoring Buggy comfortably installed in his arms.

He doesn't understand but he smiles, fondly, glad he hasn't lost his friend. He runs a hand through blue hair, kisses Buggy on the forehead and closes his eyes, indulging himself another hour of sleep. 

After all, Buggy "always" wakes up first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try to write different points of view for the same events, tell me if you liked, I have an idea for another two-parter with this format :)


End file.
